nativefalcon Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 No one is safe in Falcons rebuilding projectBy Jeff Schultz | Thursday, February 14, 2008, 06:39 PM The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionJeff Schultz By the time this is over, when the locker room in Flowery Branch looks like Main St. in Tombstone, there are going to be players and agents who will say that Thomas Dimitroff has blood on his hands.Don t listen.A team falls apart. A franchise crumbles with it. The win column shrinks from 11 to 8 to 7 to 4. Home games slide so far off the radar that the marketing department can t even fabricate numbers about a season-ticket waiting list any more.If there is any absolute about the state of the Falcons these days, it s this: Nobody is indispensable. Some teams have a nucleus to build around. The Falcons barely have an embryo. So if you see suspicious looking wires running from the locker room to Dimitroff s office, and the general manager pushes down on the plunger as early as today, don t feel the need to cover your eyes.You ve already seen the worst.You ve seen the games.Some general managers have options when they start a rebuilding project. But when you re looking at a condemned city block, it doesn t make sense to level every second building. Dimitroff is about to pick the only real option he has: Just level everything and start over.Don t think of the Falcons losing so many good guys. Think of it as a necessary turning of the page. Arthur Blank, by all appearances, has taken a step back. Dimitroff has assumed construction duties from Rich McKay. Mike Smith is the new coach, replacing some passing apparition from the nether world.A new structure and a new plan require new heartbeats. Some players will keep their jobs, either because they re actually pretty good or at least have the potential to be: Michael Boley, Roddy White, John Abraham and Jerious Norwood among them. But most will fall into one of two categories: 1) Bad; 2) Average or below, and possibly not worth what ever they re being paid. The number of players Dimitroff and Smith keep from the second category depends largely on the draft and what bargains they can find among street free agentsThe endangered list reads like the jersey rack at a fans-wear store: Dunn, Brooking, Milloy, Crumpler, Coleman. You know them, you love them, but trust me you can live without them. If you start to feel bad when the plunger is pushed, just think about the 24-3 loss at Minnesota that opened the season, or the 34-point loss at Tampa Bay, or the 20-point home loss to New Orleans. Think of the second-half collapses that buried playoff hopes in 2005 and 2006.Yes, there were significant issues: The dog-fighting quarterback. The draft busts. The injuries. An increasingly lax attitude under Jim Mora. Discontentment and disorganization under Bobby Petrino. But when there are so many fizzles and so few victories, it becomes clear that the team lacks more than just talent. It lacks bonding agents. In short, none of the veterans so often cast as leaders were able to lead this team to much.The Falcons won four games with them. They can win four games without them. Dimitroff will have nine picks in seven rounds this draft, including four among the first some-100 players taken (pending compensatory picks). They could have a shot at either Arkansas running back Darren McFadden or LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, or both. Either would be a rarity a building block.There is a decision to make on cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who, for all the baggage, probably is the team s best player. Tight end Crumpler would be the best talent on the offensive side of the ball if he weren t injured so often. The question is whether it s worth the risk releasing the tight end, only to suddenly have his knees not creak on another team s roster.But beyond a select few, most of these cuts won t be difficult. Sentimentality became a non-factor a long time ago. Cover your ears, but not your eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativefalcon Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 the axe is about to fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REV.2000 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT TO FALL ........ SOMEWHERE....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boley59 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 tomorrow will be a sad but necessary day for this franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REV.2000 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Boley59 (2/14/2008)tomorrow will be a sad but necessary day for this franchise.SO BE IT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicious Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Sounds like it might be McFadden after all. It's a building block. If he isn't the choice, then it may be Dorsey or Ellis. They seem pretty content about building from the middle out. I'm not opposed to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGA_DAWG46 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Vicious (2/14/2008)Sounds like it might be McFadden after all. It's a building block. If he isn't the choice, then it may be Dorsey or Ellis. They seem pretty content about building from the middle out. I'm not opposed to it.Yes, thats what its sound like. Also sound like Phillip Wheelers or Ben Moffitt will be one of our pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDirtyWordII Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 In short, none of the veterans so often cast as leaders were able to lead this team to much.Spot on...the fact of the matter was is that the leaders of this team never inspired their teammates to be more than they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of God Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Actually this is what I had hoped for when Petrino came in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankthetank966 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 This stuff just got real! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinblade Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 yes lets cut all the leaders of this team, good move...Yes lets also open up more holes to fill as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicious Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 UGA_DAWG46 (2/14/2008)Vicious (2/14/2008)Sounds like it might be McFadden after all. It's a building block. If he isn't the choice, then it may be Dorsey or Ellis. They seem pretty content about building from the middle out. I'm not opposed to it.Yes, thats what its sound like. Also sound like Phillip Wheelers or Ben Moffitt will be one of our pick.MLB, DT, SS and FS, RB, OT OG C OG OT, another QB. I see those as being the main focus of the draft. Anything else is a wasted pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinblade Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I say screw all the overrated prospects and just draft Kenny Phillips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonfalcon Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 nativefalcon (2/14/2008)No one is safe in Falcons rebuilding projectBy Jeff Schultz | Thursday, February 14, 2008, 06:39 PM Dimitroff will have nine picks in seven rounds this draft, including four among the first some-100 players taken (pending compensatory picks). They could have a shot at either Arkansas running back Darren McFadden or LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, or both. Either would be a rarity a building block.BOTH???? BOTH????Otherwise not a bad article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carter Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 londonfalcon (2/15/2008)nativefalcon (2/14/2008)No one is safe in Falcons rebuilding projectBy Jeff Schultz | Thursday, February 14, 2008, 06:39 PM Dimitroff will have nine picks in seven rounds this draft, including four among the first some-100 players taken (pending compensatory picks). They could have a shot at either Arkansas running back Darren McFadden or LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, or both. Either would be a rarity a building block.BOTH???? BOTH????Otherwise not a bad article.I think he means they could both be available when we pick. It's a possibility if the Dolphins take Ryan and the Rams take Chris Long or Jake Long.Good article. It's time to clean house. I'm apprehensive about such massive cuts because I have doubts that we can fill our needs adequately, but I feel it's a move that needs to be made... just not sure it needs to be made all at once.It also seems weird that we wouldn't try to trade some of these guys for value instead of just releasing them to clear up space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_ELLIS24 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 REV.2000 (2/14/2008)Boley59 (2/14/2008)tomorrow will be a sad but necessary day for this franchise.SO BE IT.Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftwfalconsfan Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Yes it's long overdue. This is still the team that Reeves built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Statick Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Oh, well...IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!!! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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